How many roads
by Nisa-chan666
Summary: Shadow has been captured by the government after the events of Shadow the Hedgehog. He has no memory from before the events of Sonic Heroes, except one, which visits him regularly in a dream. This is his journey to uncover the truth about his past.
1. Chapter 1

Nisa-chan666: In my spare time, I collect quotes to be used in general life and my writing and drawing.

Michael: My God, you are a freak.

Nisa-chan: ¬.¬ Shut up. You helped me choose some of the really depressing ones.

Michael: Okay, okay. Get to the point.

Nisa-chan: Right, I thought I might as well use one for a story.

Michael: Of what?

Nisa-chan: Sonic the Hedgehog, I think. Disclaimer, please.

Michael: Wow. Something other than Beyblade. Oh, yeah. Nisa-chan666 does not claim ownership of Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the official characters. They belong to Sega and Sonic team (I think.)

Nisa-chan: I will also be introducing two fan-characters created by my sister Kirana and myself, named Faith the Cat (copyright Nisa-chan666) and Sam the Hedgehog (copyright Kirana). Okay, on with the story.

* * *

How many roads.

_How many roads must a man travel down before he admits he's lost?_

Shadow the Hedgehog tossed and turned, the thin blanket covering him falling to the floor in a heap. He was suffering from a recurring nightmare that he had started having lately, after Rouge had woken him in Eggman's hideout. He couldn't remember why he had this dream, or why he felt a profound feeling loss and grief each time he woke up. It only lasted a few seconds, but it always left him with a strange, unsettled feeling for the rest of the day. In his dream, he was running down a set of labyrinthine corridors, clutching tightly to the hand of a blonde girl behind him. Though he never turned around, he could sense the presence of several people chasing them. They stopped in a small room, the walls cramped with computer banks and transportation pods. The girl pushed him into one of the pods before he had any time to protest. He felt pure panic implant itself in the bottom of his stomach as he flattened himself against the curved glass of the pod, trying to smash his way through the reinforced glass. The blonde girl smiled sadly at him as a troop of men with guns forced their way into the room. They yelled at her to step away from the computer console. She turned to the transport pod, an imploring look in her eyes. She said the only words he had heard clearly in the entire dream.

"Shadow, I beg of you, please do it for me, for a better future. For all the people on that planet, give them a chance to be happy. Let them live for their dreams. Shadow, I know you can do it. That is the reason why you were brought into this world. Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog," she smiled, gently pushing the pod release button.

"Maria!" he yelled, as he saw her collapse onto the console, blood spurting from the bullet wounds in her chest and stomach.

He woke up, sitting up with the cold feeling of fear resting in his chest. He felt sweat trickle down the side of his face, his breath coming in tight gasps. He sat there for a few moments, trying to remember who he was, and where he was at the moment. It started to trickle through to his shocked brain: he was Shadow the Hedgehog, and he was in his government prison cell. Even though he'd helped Sonic and friends save the world from Metal Sonic, the government had deemed him too dangerous to be allowed in public. That little period where he went around shooting aliens probably had something to do with it. People thought he was just slightly too deranged to be allowed anywhere, definitely with a gun. He sighed and rubbed one of his eyes. He wouldn't have minded, but the government had also decided to study him, see if they could uncover some of his lost memories. If the dream he continually had was actually a memory (which he didn't doubt), he would have preferred them to be left forgotten. He hoped that today would be one of his days off. He sat down at the small metal table on the other side of his cell, picking up the book he had been reading the night before. He glanced at the front cover: a girl covered in blood screaming at the top of her lungs, the word "Carrie" plastered in large crimson letters above her head. Shadow was sure that Faith had given it to him as a show of defiance to the department she worked for, because the powers that be would have had a fit if they knew he was reading a book like this. All that blood and violence. He stared at the girl on the front, feeling sick to his stomach. For a moment, he'd thought that the girl was Maria, the girl from his dream. He heard the door open, and a moment later, he was glomped by Sam, one of the few people who ever visited.

"Hey Shadow!" she yelled, sending stabs of pain down his ear.

"Hello Sam," he replied, prising her hands from around his chest.

She stood back, a large grin on her face. He sighed. She was like this every day. It wasn't that she was a bad person; she could just be incredibly annoying when the mood took her. She was a blonde hedgehog, the tips of her hair dyed a bright turquoise colour. She had baby blue eyes that almost made her look innocent. Almost. She was tall for her species, the legs of her trousers ending just above her ankles. She was wearing a short sleeved white t-shirt, a red sleeveless jacket, blue ripped jeans, and a bright blue baseball cap. Her ears had a tiny gold stud earring each. Her sister, Faith, came up behind her and punched her lightly on the arm. Well, I say sisters, they were actually step-sisters, Sam's mother married Faith's father. They was no other way they could be related. I mean, Faith was a totally different species!

"How are you coming along with Carrie? I thought you would appreciate Stephen King's work, being possibly the best horror writer of our time," Faith grinned.

If you looked at her, you wouldn't think she'd spend most of her time reading. She was a dark grey cat with black stripes punctuating evenly along her arms, legs, tail, ears and face. She had black eyes, with slightly luminous whites, like all cats. Her large, diamond shaped ears, were pierced with several pairs of earring holes. Today she had her usual: one set of hoops, one set of a bolt of lightning, and one set of a crescent moon. She was wearing a black corset top, and bright red bondage trousers. So when he'd first met her, he was surprised to find out that her main hobby was reading. He would have expected skateboarding. She giggled every time he thought of that. He hated it when she read his mind uninvited.

"It's okay. I'm not sure I should really be reading it though," he replied, a rare smile twitching at his lips.

"Hey, how are you doing, Shadow?" Rouge asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"...Fine," he stuttered, a faint blush creeping to his cheeks.

He could never understand what it was about her, but he instinctively liked her. More than like, though he wouldn't be telling her that any time soon. She was a white bat with green eyes that hinted at the aura of mischief she always radiated. She always wore a (slightly kinky) black, white and pink, skin-tight leather outfit that stopped just above her chest. Maybe he liked her because they'd been through so much together. He could only remember teaming up with her to stop Metal Sonic, but he was sure there was another occasion where they'd met. Rouge never mentioned anything, but he knew, from the way she would look at him, with a sorrowful reminiscent smile.

"Are you taking me to research again?" Shadow asked.

"Nope, just a friendly visit," Faith replied, taking out another stack of books for him to read.

"How do you expect him to plough through all of those?" Sam asked, picking up a book from the top of the pile.

She glanced critically at the title, and tossed it back onto the tottering stack, causing them to fall over.

"Uh-oh," Sam giggled.

"Stupid sister," Faith muttered murderously.

Shadow shook his head. Those two didn't exactly strike him as a professional government team. Or pairing, whatever you want to call it. But out on the field, they were a force to be reckoned with. Sam had power over water, wherever it happened to be. She wasn't advanced enough to actually create water from thin air. Faith was telekinetic and telepathic, and was undoubtedly more experienced in her use of her powers. And Rouge would sometimes help on their various missions with her knowledge of lock-picking etc.

"Why are you here?" Shadow asked, still not quite sure.

"We came to drop Sam off. She's on guard duty today," Rouge replied.

"So I get to see you _all_ day!" Sam squealed delightedly.

"Yay," Shadow murmured, letting his head hit the table.

"We'll be back in about... 8 hours," Faith said, grinning maniacally.

Faith and Rouge waved and left, giggling to themselves. Sam was what could only be called... a rabid fan-girl. Shadow had noticed that every time he talked to her, she went all sparkly-eyed. She scared him like that.

"So, it's you and me for 8 hours," she said coyly.

"God help me," he muttered into the table.

* * *

6 hours passed, and Sam had basically worn herself out. She had been trying to glomp Shadow every 5 minutes... unsuccessfully. Shadow was just about to go hide in a corner, he was that creeped out. She had given up about half an hour ago, and was now playing guitar and singing softly to herself.

"You'll never break us, never bring us down. We are alive!" she sung, eyes closed, fingers dancing across the guitar strings.

"You play guitar?" Shadow asked.

"Yep, I wanted to be a rock star when I was little. Still do, I suppose. But some people don't like to accept me as I am," she replied, a sad smile on her face.

Shadow sat in silence for a moment. This was coming from the same girl who had been making glomping attempts on him for 5 and a half hours. It was deep. That girl was totally bipolar.

"What music do you like, Shadow?" she asked, after a couple of random chords.

"Erm... not sure. Depressing stuff, I guess," he replied, not quite ready for the question.

"Like Faith then. You should hear some of the depressing crap she plays at our place sometimes," she grinned. "Do you want to hear a song?"

"Erm... okay?" Shadow said, still wary of the bipolarness that was Sam.

"How about... Not like the other girls," she said, placing her fingers in the appropriate places.

For the next 5 and a half minutes, he sat and listened to the quiet notes of the acoustic guitar, and the confident voice who sang along with it. He started by only half-listening, but for some reason the chorus really caught his attention.

"She's fading away, away from this world. Drifting like a feather, she's not like other girls. She lives in the clouds, she talks to the birds. Hopeless little one, she's not like other girls I know," Sam said, quietly but clearly.

"She's fading away, away from this world... like that girl's life. The one I couldn't save," Shadow muttered after she had finished.

"A girl? Who?" Sam asked, puzzled.

"Just a girl I keep seeing in my dreams. It's nothing," he answered.

"What did she look like?" she asked, gasping.

"She was a blonde girl, with dark blue eyes. She was wearing a blue dress. She was called..." Shadow muttered, eyes closed, trying to dredge up what he remembered of the dream.

"Maria," Sam replied, a sad smile on her face.

"How did you know?" he asked, startled.

"That's what the scientists at this facility have been trying to get you to remember. That's a key piece of your past," she murmured, starting to frown.

"I don't understand. How is it a key part?" Shadow asked desperately.

"I'll tell you later. At the moment, we need to get you out of here," she whispered, whipping out her access card.

"Pardon?" he replied, after a moment's shocked silence.

"You're about to escape. I'm assuming that you don't want to stay here the rest of your life?" she muttered, staring at the electronic lock.

"Where am I supposed to go? No-one's likely to take in a supposed terrorist," he said exasperatedly.

"Lay low at my place. There's a map of the city in my purse. I live in a block of flats near the Central Station hotel. You know the place?" she replied, swiping her card in the lock.

"How am I supposed to get there?"

"Your cell prevents you from performing Chaos control. I have an Emerald shard, which I'm hoping will be enough for you to use, which you'll use to perform Chaos control with, to teleport you to my flat," she explained. "You just have to step outside."

"You've thought this through a lot, haven't you?" he asked wryly, inspecting the Emerald shard in the light.

"Yep. Last step. Get out there," she grinned, nodding towards the opening door.

"Here goes nothing," Shadow thought, as he stepped into the almost deserted corridor.

* * *

Shadow flopped down on the bed. He had made it. Barely, but he'd made it. Sam had forgotten to research the times that the guards made their rounds. He'd basically walked straight into one after the first corner. A quick kick to the face soon had the guard unconscious on the floor. Then there was using the Emerald shard to teleport to Sam's flat. He'd managed to materialise outside their window. Their flat was on the 25th floor. That had been a close one. He'd looked around for a bit, to make sure that he was in the right place. The room he was in had clinched it. It was the bedroom Sam shared with Faith. It was separated into 2 clearly defined spaces. The left half of the room was a pale blue with pearly silver bubbles dotted around the walls. The walls on this half of the room had several posters stuck on them, depicting bands like Green Day and The Offspring, and Anime such as Excel Saga and Spirited away. The other half was black, with figures that looked suspiciously like vampires and demons painted on in purple, red and white. There were several photos of Faith and Sam from various times in their past hanging from these walls. He sat down on the right-hand bed, which he assumed was Faith's. He looked at her bedside table, on which rested a black photo-album. He was about to pick it up, when someone came into the room, and flicked the light-switch on.

"Sam! Why is Shadow in our bedroom!" Faith yelled, a deep blush spreading across her cheeks as she snatched the photo-album away from the table.

* * *

Nisa-chan666: Well, what do you think? I haven't done a Sonic the Hedgehog fanfiction yet. To viewers of the show, I apologise, because I'm basing this more on the games, than I am on the TV show. Apologies to those who've completed the Shadow the Hedgehog game already. My sister has it, but we haven't seen the final outcome, so I may be slightly inaccurate when writing this. Please read and review. P.S. The lyrics to Defy You belong to The Offspring, and the lyrics to Not Like the Other Girls belong to The Rasmus. Just so you know. 


	2. Chapter 2

Nisa-chan666: It's nice to write about something apart from Beyblade, especially since I haven't done anything to do with Sonic for about 6 months. So, I left you at the part where Shadow had successfully escaped to Sam's flat, then been promptly found by her step-sister, Faith. Well, on with the story.

* * *

Part 2

"Pardon? Oh... I see you've met our guest," Sam giggled nervously, skidding through the doorway.

"I asked you if you had anything to do with Shadow's escape. You said no," Faith seethed, eyes narrowed to murderous-looking slits.

"Maybe I did tell a tiny little lie. But I only opened his cell, he escaped on his own after that," Sam replied anxiously.

"Don't try pinning the blame on me!" Shadow yelled indignantly from the bed.

"Okay, so maybe I did tell him to come here. And maybe I did tell him to escape in the first place. So what? If you had been in my skin, you would have done the same. Don't try to tell me you haven't been tempted to bust him out of there," Sam sighed, bracing herself for eruption of anger from Faith.

"Okay, I admit, he didn't belong there. But the scientists were trying to uncover his memories. It could prevent further harm as a result of what happened 50 years ago," Faith replied quietly, shaking her head with a frown.

"If they'd actually told him some solid facts, then maybe he would actually make some progress by himself. I helped him escape because I found out that he does remember something. You work in the information department, right? You could find the file about Shadow to show him. If not, then _I_ will hack into the mainframe and take it," Sam argued.

"What does he remember?" Faith asked suspiciously.

"The day when GUN evacuated the Space Colony ARK, 50 years ago," Sam whispered, looking away.

"Maria Robotnik?" Faith gasped, glancing nervously at Shadow, who had been staring at them for the whole conversation.

Sam nodded. Faith stood for a moment, lost in thought. She smiled and nodded to herself.

"Okay, he can stay. We'll see if we can't uncover Shadow's lost memories," she grinned.

"Won't GUN try and find me? According to them, I'm too dangerous to be allowed on the streets," Shadow asked, scowling.

"Knowing GUN, probably. But with Sam and I sabotaging their efforts, I doubt they'll get very far. If we can convince Rouge to help us, then there's no way they'll find you," Faith replied confidently.

"Thank you," Shadow said, with a rare smile, the kind you treasure in years to come.

* * *

Rouge strutted around her bedroom, Faith staring at her in the doorway. Loud music thumped through the floor below them, in the club Rouge owned as part of her cover identity.

"So you're telling me Shadow escaped from the GUN facility with Sam's help?" Rouge asked.

"Yep," Faith replied.

"He's laying low at your flat, until the coast is clear?"

"Yep."

"And you want me to help you find his file in the computer mainframe?" Rouge asked, stopping and staring at Faith like she wasn't quite sane.

"In a nutshell... yep," Faith grinned.

"I'm in. I haven't had a decent challenge in ages," Rouge smiled, cracking her fingers.

"Are you sure it's not because this is Shadow we're talking about?" Faith asked, winking slyly.

"Of course not. The President's barred me from using the mainframe, because I always manage to find a jewel to steal on there. That's all," Rouge replied, blushing slightly.

"Uh-huh. Sure," Faith replied, walking back down the stairs, a smile on her face.

* * *

Shadow turned in his sleep, a calm frown on his face. For the first time in months, he wasn't having his recurring nightmare. He had found that he only suffered from it when he was feeling particularly stressed, i.e. when he had to fight or when he was imprisoned in a relatively small room for months. Sam peeked in the door, smiling slightly. She had seen the sheer terror he would have after a nightmare many a time in the security room. She stepped out of the room, wondering how he could be so calm. She couldn't sit still while she knew that Rouge and Faith were hacking the computer mainframe. It should have her doing, since it was her fault that Shadow was in this predicament in the first place... but no, Faith had said that she was already in enough trouble as it was. So she had to stay at home, make sure that no-one found Shadow. She wandered around the living room, singing to herself, switching songs when the words left her from sheer nerves (which was often.) She only stopped when she felt a light hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Shadow staring out of the window.

"You're nervous. Why?" he asked.

"I don't know. I know they're probably more experienced than me, but I feel that I should be out there with them. Or in their place I guess," she murmured.

"I see. You needn't worry, they'll be fine," he replied after a moment's thought.

"I know they will. That doesn't mean I don't worry about them," Sam retorted snappily.

"Just... don't worry," he said, staring up at the moon.

And, for some reason, she believed him. She smiled. Everything would be okay, it had to be.

* * *

"Why so melancholy?" Rouge asked, tapping Shadow on the shoulder, ejecting him from his dark thoughts.

"Pardon?" Shadow asked, startled, sure that he'd heard her ask him that somewhere before.

"I said why so melancholy. Are you okay?" Rouge said, a look that could only be called concern written over her face.

"I'm fine. I just had the strange feeling that you'd asked me that question before. In a time that I can't quite remember," he replied thoughtfully.

"Shadow..." Rouge whispered, a sad gleam in her normally cheeky eyes.

He stared at her for what seemed forever. He couldn't help it, he'd never seen her more beautiful. Her green eyes bright with tears she wouldn't allow to form. So vulnerable, yet so strong.

"We succeeded in retrieving the file containing your past. Do you want to see it?" Rouge asked, turning away and wiping at her eyes.

"Not yet. I need some time to think," Shadow replied, feeling something precious slip through his fingers, though what it was he couldn't place.

"Okay," she smiled, kissing him softly on the mouth.

Shadow felt his eyes widen in shock as her lips momentarily brushed his own. She was about to turn away, when he reached down and grasped her hand. He cupped his other hand on her face, and kissed her back. He closed his eyes and moved his hand from her cheek to the back of her head, lightly stroking her silky white hair. They parted, slightly breathless. Rouge looked at Shadow, who had turned away with a huge blush blooming in his cheeks.

"Shadow?" she asked, cupping his cheek lightly.

"I wanted to tell you. I truly did. I wanted to tell you I love you," he murmured, placing his hand on top of hers.

"I know," she smiled gently.

She gently brought him into a hug. In that moment, his world couldn't have been more complete.

* * *

Kirana: Awww! So kawaii! A bit corny towards the end, don't you think?

Nisa-chan666: TT.TT Shut up! This is the only way I know how to write romance scenes!

Kirana: I know. It's sweet but...

Nisa-chan: But what?

Kirana: THAT LUCKY BITCH! (waterfall tears and Shadow fan-girl aura.)

Nisa-chan: O.O Okay, back away. Oh yeah, 2 points. 1) Please don't flame me! I really like the Shadow/Rouge pairing. Even though I'm a bit of a yoai fan-girl, Sonic yoai is just plain wrong. 2) Here is a random blooper for this chapter. Yes, my life is so pointless, that I'm sitting here thinking of the things that could be messed up if this were being filmed.

* * *

Shadow: I wanted to tell you. I truly did. I wanted to tell you I love you. Even if you do have strange wiggly ears.

Rouge: Why you! (Slaps Shadow hard.)

Shadow: What? I'm only reading what it says in the script.

Rouge: Where does it say that?

(Both peer at script. Extra line scribbled on in blue crayon.)

Rouge: You never noticed that?

Shadow: (smacking head against the wall) Stupid, stupid, stupid! I had to read the blue crayon didn't I?

Nisa-chan666: Cut, cut. Sam, have you been tampering with the scripts?

Sam: (laughs nervously.)

Nisa-chan: (sigh.) Okay. Sam, stop tampering with the scripts. Rouge, if it happens again don't bitch-slap him quite as hard. And Shadow, I know I told you to ignore the red crayon last time, but this time I'm telling you: IGNORE THE CRAYON! IT IS EVIL!

* * *

Nisa-chan666: A bit of randomness for you. My apologies, that was a crap blooper. 


End file.
